Explosive
by Goddess Usagi
Summary: Set immediately after 'A Reluctant Princess', Usagi has decided she has to save Mamoru, not even knowing where he is, depending on the link between them. He's been gone 16 hours, and is unconcious, will Usagi get him to safety? SMTK


My friends have called that first meeting of ours 'explosive', but I would much rather label it something simpler – pure hatred. It was amazing that even at our first meeting things were so violent, so defined, so very black and white. Our meetings, or arguments rather, were one of the few things I came to depend on in those first few weeks of becoming Sailor Moon. He was new, completely different, yet arguing with him was almost a release, a way of purging all those awful feelings I had been experiencing. But each argument only left me more frustrated, more confused, like there was something missing within our, well I hesitate to call it, relationship.

But it didn't take long for things to change, I had been fighting the Negaverse for only a few months when something incredibly bizarre happened. I never expected the strange masked man, that I had a sometimes-crush on, to be the annoying boy I had been arguing with since the beginning.

The beginning. I don't even know when that was, not really. Did everything start when Luna came and gave me that broach, told me that I was Sailor Moon, protector of love and justice? Or did everything start with that maths test? Could one single 30 be responsible for how my life is now?

I doubt it, either way I'll never know. The fact is that I did get the broach, and I did fail that maths test, which happened to end up balled up and thrown at my soon-to-be sparring partner.

Things are different now, I know who I am, who I really am, and who I am supposed to become. But its so much harder without him here. He was supposed to be here for me to fight with, dependantly, every single day, but he isn't. And he isn't the person I thought he was. Who could have guessed all those months ago that not only was I, Usagi Tsukino, Sailor Moon, but also that I was the Princess Serenity of the Moon, a place which appears so dead that its doubtful there was ever life. But also that he, Mamoru Chiba, was Tuxedo Kamen, and also Prince Endymion of Earth, the Princess's betrothed.

I digress though, this is not what I meant to talk about, not here anyway. I don't mean to sound whiney, though I often do, but I don't know how things are supposed to be now. I just know that I miss our arguments now, the 'explosiveness' of our quasi-relationship. And I shouldn't , because what did I ever know about him? We argued, sure, and I'd found out little things from Motoki, like how his parents had died when he was young, or that he lived alone in an apartment nearby my house. But I didn't know anything about him as a person, other than his annoying tendancy to provoke me in any way possible, and the way his eyes softened whenever he realised how much his words had hurt me.

I know he didn't think I'd seen that, but in those few seconds before I turned and ran, I could always see that he wasn't the hard person he pretended to be. His eyes, those dark, almost black, blue eyes, which seemed to notice every little thing I did; I could never let him know that I saw that though, something like that was entirely too personal. I was afraid that if I acknowledged it, the eyes would change, that I would have been wrong in my assessment of him.

I never would have guessed, before that night, that he was Tuxedo Kamen, but by the time I knew, we knew, everything was too late. I was always late, for everything, but somehow it was wrong to be late for this; I was late for school, almost every day, but I never felt so awful about that. I had a responsibility to protect, to save, to help, but I failed, I couldn't get to him before they spirited him away. I was late. And I plan on never being late again.

I have to go save him.

---

_**I can't tell the girls,**_ Usagi thought, climbing out of her window onto the tree that her father must not have known was there, _**they'll kill me if they ever find out, I just hope Luna doesn't realise I'm gone, for long enough anyway. If I'm right then this won't take too long. Just in, and back out. Please, please let this work.**_

By this time Usagi was down the tree and around the corner, hidden by the dark shadows created by the brightness of the moon. It was there that she changed herself into the protector of love and justice, Sailor Moon, and ran off into the night, seeking true justice for a man she can come to depend on.

Usagi had known for a little while now where she had to go, where the Negaverse was hiding, and she knew that she could never take the other Senshi with her, it was too dangerous. No, they would have to sit this fight out, see if Sailor Moon would triumph where they would all have failed, where they all had failed.

Usagi couldn't help but be a little frustrated, a little resentful of the fact that, while they were looking after her, the Senshi had let Malachite take Mamoru. She wouldn't blame them though, not for their priorities, they had no way of knowing that Mamoru would turn out to be so important.

The blonde superhero sighed, still running towards her destination, _Almost there now, just a few more blocks, and from there only a few hours, hopefully._

Sailor Moon found herself in the midst of the Juuban Park, hidden within a grove of trees, realising she had reached her destination. Taking a deep breath, Usagi centred herself, concentrating fully on Mamoru.

Within an instant she was at his side. Or at least, beside the contraption holding him in place. She glanced around the room, looking frantically to check that there weren't any nega-monsters hanging around. Luckily there weren't, and she went immediately to look for something, anything, to release him from this monstrous prison.

He'd only been a prisoner for a little less than 16 hours, but she was afriad they had done permanent damage to him. "Lets see if I can get you out of here," she whispered to the coffin-like prison, hoping that she could.

But there wasn't a switch, "Damnit!" Usagi cried, stomping her foot in frustration, "What am I supposed to do now?" she took a deep breath, gathering the power she knew that she had within herself, using it to try to stop whatever process was slowly taking Mamoru further from her. The device made a whine which slowly increased in pitch and volume, until finally it stopped moving, showing her that Mamoru was unconcious, laid out on a stone bed.

She shook him, "Mamoru, we don't have time for this!" she said frantically, "Come on, please, wake up! This is not the time for you to be stubborn!"

But he didn't move, not even a stir, and she was tempted to pull out her Moon Healing Wand, even knowing it would probably have no effect. She pulled him to the floor, knowing that they couldn't have much time, surely someone would have heard that awful noise.

Mamoru looked to be waking a little, but not enough for her liking. She had to get him out of here. The only way she could think of was to teleport them both out of there, but that was always dangerous, particularly if the other party wasn't helping any.

"We could end up anywhere," she murmured to his unconcious body, gathering the energy necessary, "I am going to be so exhausted when we get home." She said, before they popped out of the Negaverse and back into their own city. The surroundings though, were not familiar to Usagi at all, it was an apartment, totally dark, and almost completely bare, only a few necessary items in the main room. She sighed, "This is what happens when you try to transport two people!", before dragging Mamoru over to a couch in this strange apartment. Usagi dropped him onto it, laying him out properly, before sitting on the other chair and falling asleep.


End file.
